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From Self-Immolation to Abortion Restrictions: Is Australia a Migrant Hell?

A woman
raped in Australia's offshore detention camp in Nauru has been refused to
travel to Australia for an abortion, while an Iranian refugee has died two days
after setting himself alight in protest at his treatment at the facility.

While the
number of asylum seekers flowing into Australia remains tiny compared to that
of Europe, migration is a constant political issue in the land down under.

When
refugees reach Australian shores, they are usually deported back to the state
of origin or are detained in offshore facilities located on a distant island
country of Nauru or Manus Island, a part of Papua New Guinea.

However, these
facilities turn out to be far from homey stay.

The Nauru
camp has come into the focus of international attention this week, after two
major incidents occurred.

This Tuesday, while the representatives of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Office were visiting the facility, an
Iranian immigrant named Omid deliberately set himself alight.

He received
critical burns over 50% of his body, and eventually died yesterday, April 29th.
According to his roommates, he did this in protest at his treatment in the
facility.

Omid was not
transported to a hospital in Australia, with officials saying his "severe
condition" did not allow any transportation.

His wife criticized the
Australian government for being unable to provide sufficient medical attention
for her husband.

International
advocacy group Human Rights Watch reportedly described the death as
"senseless" and a result of "Australia's inhumane refugee
policies."

The second
major incident involved an African woman, who is known only as "S99",
who suffers from epilepsy.

The woman was reportedly raped after she fell
unconscious during a seizure.

However, since she remains on the land of Nauru,
she is prohibited from having an abortion.

She is also prohibited from
traveling to Australia to undergo the procedure.

Catherine
Stubberfield, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees 's regional representation in Australian capital Canberra, has called
the current policy of offshore processing and prolonged detention
"immensely harmful," while calling the system "untenable."

The Manus
detention camp is going to be closed, as a result of Papua New Guinea Supreme
Court ruling that the camp is illegal.

The detainees' lawyers united to seek a
sum of "billions" of dollars of compensation, as well as requiring
Australian officials to have the refugees transferred not to mainland Australia
rather than another offshore facility.

However,
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton reiterated on Friday there would
be no policy change.

Dutton suggested one option was to transfer those held on
PNG to the Nauru facility.

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